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John Trumbull Sr.
Trumbull Sr. was the only man who served as a governor in both an English colony and an American state, and he was also the only governor at the start of the American Revolutionary War that took up the Patriot cause. -
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John Witherspoon
John Witherspoon was born in Scotland and emigrated to the American Colonies to become the president of the College of New Jersey, which was later called Princeton University. He supported the independence of the American Colonies and served New Jersey in the Continental Congress. -
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John Hancock
John Hancock was the president of Congress when the Declaration of Independence was adopted and signed. He signed it as well. He is best known for his large signature on the Declaration of Independence so much so that "John Hancock" became a synonym for signature in the United States. -
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Charles Carroll
Charles Carroll was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early supporter of independence from Great Britain. He is one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, and the sole Catholic signer to the Declaration of Independence. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and Confederation Congress and later as first United States Senator for Maryland. -
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John Jay
An American statesman, Patriot, diplomat, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, negotiator and signatory of the Treaty of Paris of 1783, second Governor of New York, and the first Chief Justice of the United States from 1789 to 1795. -
Declaration of Independence
The formal statement written by Thomas Jefferson declaring the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain. -
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush is best known for being a physician and his political activities during the Revolutionary War. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. -
E Pluribus Unum
"One of many, one" (the motto of the US). Appears on the Great Seal along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and was adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782. -
US Constitution
The US Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America, originally comprising seven articles, establishing America's fundamental laws and values. -
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John Peter Muhlenberg
John Peter Muhlenberg was an American clergyman, Continental Army soldier, and a political figure in the newly independent United States. He was elected to the First Congress as one of the at-large representatives from Pennsylvania. President Thomas Jefferson appointed him the supervisor of revenue for Pennsylvania in 1801 and customs collector for Philadelphia in 1802. He served in the latter post until his death. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the document that guaranteed the first ten rights of the citizens of the United States in the U.S. Constitution, such as the freedoms of speech, assembly, and worship. It was ratified in 1791. -
Fifth Amendment
The amendment of the US Constitution that grants the right to refuse to testify in court and to refuse to answer questions in order to avoid incriminating oneself. "I plead the fifth." -
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Alex de Tocqueville
Alex de Tocqueville was a French diplomat, political scientist, and historian. His five values were liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissez-faire. Liberty meant to him freedom from tyrannical government control, egalitarianism, no permanent social class structure. Individualism, people are free to pursue their own goals, populism, the participation of common people in politics, and laissez-faire: the government has a "hands-off" approach to the economy. -
Eminent Domain
Eminent domain, land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation is the power of a state, provincial, or national government to take private property for public use. This was not officially recognized until 1876. -
"In God We Trust"
"In God We Trust" is the official motto of the United States of America. It replaced "E Pluribus Unum" as the official motto on July 30th, 1956 officially, but was created in 1864.
